Britney’s tube sock!
Nelly to the rescue!
Pop and rock and rap, together!
Credit: JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images
The 2001 Super Bowl halftime show is a memory box for that missing moment.
For awhile there, the mid-game music showcase became a stopover for boomer legacy artists playing the hits.
I’m sureThe Weekndwill be fine on Sunday.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
This was all happening in Florida, of course, mere weeks after the state’s world-shifting electoral controversy.
That (actual?)
steal wasn’t stopped.
NSYNC bounces back with “It’s Gonna Be Me.”
Aerosmith retorts with “Jaded.”
This was NSYNC’s pinnacle, a year out from the record-breakingNo Strings Attached.
The dance moves are charmingly attainable: unison knee bends, fists pumping into dice-rolls.
Any volleyball team could nail this in a few hours.
Eventually, he disrobes into a yellow jersey with “TYLER” printed on the back.
Wearing personalized sports uniforms emblazoned with your own name wasn’t actually a 2000s fashion trend.
It could have been, though; it makes as much sense as Von Dutch.
There were metrics to back up the braggadocio there were metrics back then!
and MTV was producing this halftime show, which explains a lot of creative decisions.
McG actually directed an introductory comedy video, where the musicians play themselves andBen Stillerplays a jerk.
It’s a very Movie Awards-ish concept, promoted up from cable to the biggest media league of all.
There’s no whiff of generational animosity.
NSYNC loves Aerosmith and Aerosmith loves NSYNC.
It’s a brave new millennium and grunge has been vanquished: No need to discuss things like authenticity!
And look, this whole guy crew vs. guy crew showdown?
At one point,Justin Timberlakefires sparks out of his wrists.
“Man, this is way too white for me!”
“We gotta get some hip-hop up in here!”
Another guitar band might headline the Super Bowl halftime show in my lifetime, but I don’t know.
WasAdam Levine stripping down to his yoga pecsthe day the music died?
One cut says it all.
Sorry sorry: A sock on her right arm?
Spears had reality distortion-level stardom at that point in history.
She pretty much takes over “Walk This Way.”
She never quite gets a focal moment again.
Timberlake doing Aerosmith looks like a fun guy goofing off at karaoke.
Suddenly anything can happen.
The ridiculous party was about to end, but it was a party.
